Clipper 09-10 - Day 4 Spinnaker wraps take their toll

by Clipper Event media on 26 Sep 2009 Clipper 09-10, Race 2: La Rochelle - Rio de Janeiro, Day 4 report.

Over the last few days several of the teams have suffered from spinnaker wraps which have led to sail damage and some slow 12 hour runs. Skipper Matt Pike and his crew on board Edinburgh Inspiring Capital suffered this fate yesterday, which goes some way to explaining why they are currently lying in tenth place. Reporting from the boat this morning Matt said, 'After a spinnaker wrap, the mother of all wraps, I'm pleased to report that the crew united brilliantly to clear the mess, but it still took 14 hours! A few valuable lessons learned and we are now full speed ahead to catch the fleet. Having rounded Cape Finisterre and heading south, we are looking forward to some good trade wind sailing. The words 'hare' and 'tortoise' have been used a lot!'

A spinnaker wrap is when the huge sail wraps itself around the forestay, and sometimes the inner forestay - the two pieces of rigging on which the headsails get attached to.

Sometimes the spinnaker only wraps itself a couple of times around the thick wire leading from the bow to the top of the mast and it is easy for the crew to unwrap it by steering a different course or trimming the lines attached to the sail. On some occasions the centre of the spinnaker can wrap itself around the forestay and you end up with a wine glass or hour glass shape with the top and bottom of the spinnaker full of wind but the middle firmly wrapped. If the crew do not act quickly enough, the spinnaker can keep wrapping itself around and around the forestay getting tighter and tighter until the only way to get it off is to cut the sail.

Even when the crews manage to unwrap a spinnaker without cutting it there is often damage to the sail that needs repairing. Skipper Jim Dobie has been impressed with his crews efforts over the past 24 hours, saying, 'Uniquely Singapore has been and continues to be a hive of activity. There has been a non stop sail repair station in the saloon, with the crew sleeping and then waking to take it in turns at unpicking stitches and re-sewing the kite. This was completed during the night and you can only imagine the heartbreak that when we hoisted again this morning some of the stitching had creased and parted again. I can only say that the attitude of the whole crew floored me. After the usual uttering of expletives the sail is quickly dropped and immediately the unpicking commences and the sewing machine comes out again. I would love to take credit for the 'can do' attitude and the 'nothing gets us down' feeling on board at the moment but, to be honest, I think the crew are a superb bunch and I am fortunate to be skippering such a fine team.'

A wrap is caused by the helm steering a course too deep down wind which hides the spinnaker behind the mainsail and the trimmers do not react fast enough to the situation. As the spinnaker gets stuck in the wind shadow behind the mainsail it collapses and starts to fall inwards towards the forestay. The disturbed air in the wind shadow behind the mainsail is swirling around and causes the spinnaker to start spinning. If it touches the forestay, that spinning results in the cloth wrapping itself tightly around the wire.

Clipper Race Director, Joff Bailey says, 'Although spinnaker wraps can occur at any time, it is Murphy's Law that it happens at night when everybody is tired and reactions are slower. It is likely that those teams that have dropped down the leader board over the last few days have had spinnaker wrap problems, some more serious than others!'

The ten teams have now cleared the Bay Of Biscay and will be glad to head into open Atlantic Ocean waters and a steady airflow. Particularly grateful will be the crews on board Cape Breton Island and Jamaica Lightning Bolt who both got stuck in wind holes as they cut too close to the Spanish coast.

'The last 24 hours has seen a big change in the weather and our fortunes,' says Pete Stirling, skipper of Jamaica Lightning Bolt. 'We spent most of yesterday making very slow progress in the wrong direction and tried a multitude of different sail plans just to keep the boat moving. This included flying the heavyweight spinnaker as an asymmetric with the port clew tacked down to the deck. Not very conventional but it was the only way of keeping it filled and we made quite good progress with it. The wind finally filled in late yesterday afternoon and has steadily built to a north easterly Force 7. We are now out of the Bay of Biscay and just 15 miles NNW of Cape Finisterre. We are not at all happy about being 'Tail End Charlie' and all the crew are focused on sailing the boat as fast as possible and regaining some of those lost places. Watch this space!'

Team Finland has also reported this morning that they made the mistake of getting too close to the coast, spending several hours in light winds as the leading group pulled further ahead.

Skipper of Team Finland, Eero Lehtinen, says, 'I should have remembered the good old classic 'Go West Young Man', especially considering I am second senior in the group of ten skippers. West has clearly paid off for some and we lost dearly to them during the last schedule by staying too close to the Spanish/Portuguese coast. But here we go again, the chase is on and, until we leave the Doldrums, the game is wide open.'

As the boats sail further out to sea the winds will become more predictable as they are not affected by the heating and cooling of a land mass. With a steady north to north easterly wind of 15 - 20 knots forecast for the 24 - 48 hours all the teams will have a fast run towards the Canary Islands.

Joff says, 'The long range forecast for the winds around the Canary Islands is showing that there is a chance of light air to the west of the islands and potentially head winds. This will cause some concern to the skippers as west is the shortest route and going through the island chain is a bit of a gamble with the risk of sailing into a wind hole.'

Positions at 0600 GMT, Friday 25 September

Boat Latitude Longitude DTF* DTL*
Hull & Humber 41.14.3N 10.54.33W 4289nm 0nm
Qingdao 41.35.16N 10.49.37W 4309nm 20nm
Spirit of Australia 41.37.24N 10.51.56W 4310nm 21nm
Team Finland 41.41.40N 10.18.14W 4326nm 37nm
Cork 42.15.31N 9.47.39W 4367nm 78nm
Uniquely Singapore 42.23.19N 9.56.25W 4370nm 82nm California 42.27.9N 9.41.2W 4379nm 91nm
Cape Breton Island 42.27.31N 9.38.9W 4381nm 92nm
Jamaica Lightning Bolt 43.6.18N 9.20.21W 4421nm 132nm
Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 43.38.39N 10.22.50W 4427nm 138nm

(*DTF = Distance to Finish, *DTL = Distance to Leader)

Full details of positions click here